Kansas City Chiefs receiver Xavier Worthy knows that as he enters Year 2, more is going to be expected of him in Andy Reid’s offense.
After ending his rookie season in superb form (157 yards and two touchdowns in the Super Bowl loss), Worthy and the offense will look to hit the ground running at training camp with Rashee Rice and Marquise Brown now back in the fold.
Having not been the explosive unit we had come to know under Patrick Mahomes in the last few seasons, it appears there is a desire to return to that style of offense.
And when speaking on the “Up & Adams Show” with Kay Adams, Worthy revealed a message that Reid told the group after an OTA practice.
“Coach Reid told us during OTAs Phase 1, ‘When you come back, get your hamstrings ready,’ ” Worthy said. “So, we kind of knew that we were going to be going a little deep during practice. We kind of got our bodies and our minds ready for what we’re going to be doing in practice.”
The Chiefs attempted to incorporate the deep ball into their offense last season, but with Rice going down for the year in Week 4 and Marquise Brown not being seen until Week 16, they lost two genuine weapons to injury.
Now, with both back healthy, along with an improved Worthy, Mahomes has three weapons who can stretch the field, plus Travis Kelce and Noah Gray underneath.
Granted, having the deep ball back is a good idea, but the offensive line needs to protect well to allow the routes to develop, something it didn’t do last season with Mahomes sacked 47 times (including playoffs), which was a career-high.
Now, the Chiefs will try again to get one of their best weapons up and running, and if the unit can get the deep ball working regularly, it opens up a lot for the offense.
So, Xavier, get those hamstrings ready.
